Zophar’s appeal, as ever, is to the authority of tradition as the source of truth. He has nothing new to say and keeps ploughing the same furrow.
The sincere believer who is depressed may give way to unworthily grumbles. But worse than these, the devil says, ‘How can you be a true believer?’ He tries to fill our minds with the most pessimistic thoughts, and to make the idea that we belong to God seem far-fetched. But God’s promises must cast out our pessimism. We must hold on to the reality of past sins forgiven, God’s promise never to forsake us, the record of previous saints like Job who have been viciously attacked, and the knowledge that we have an enemy who lies and is out to destroy us. We need to use our minds. We must not just lie down and cease to resist. Faith must continue to be at work at such a time, for the waves of depressing thoughts are intended to exhaust us.